Pasadena, CA (May 15, 2018) – TEDxPasadena is delighted to announce the full speaker lineup for its annual TEDxPasadena event, scheduled for Saturday, September 22, 2018, at the Huntington Library in San Marino CA. The day-long event draws more than 500 attendees and thought leaders from Pasadena and greater Los Angeles. Thirteen speakers will be highlighted on stage, including performer, author and TV-personality, Erika Jayne Girardi, best known for her role on the Bravo TV show, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. As experts in their fields, this year’s TEDxPasadena speakers will offer inspiring insights linked to this year’s theme: TRANSFORM.

The influential list of speakers includes Olympic medalist Lauren Gibbs, media personality and civil rights activist Ashlee Marie Preston, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Systems Engineer Tracy Drain and world-renowned expert in the field of laparoscopic and robotic repair techniques, Dr. René Sotelo. The impressive speaker lineup also includes a crypto-enthusiast, a multi-disciplinary artist, and a dynamic educator on sexual violence, to name a few.

“We are thrilled to announce this inspiring cohort of TEDxPasadena speakers,” shared Executive Director and Licensee Heather Heimerl Brunold. “Each will approach this year’s theme of TRANSFORM through a unique lens of expertise, talent, and life-experience. We are excited to see the impact their ideas will have on our community, and how, together, we will transform their words to action.”

The list of confirmed speakers for TEDxPasadena is below. A comprehensive list, including full bios and headshots can be found here.

Timothy Alexander

Nancy Baker Cahill

Jeffrey Bucholtz

Dana Budzyn

Steven Butler

Tracy Drain

Lauren Gibbs

Erika Jayne Girardi

Peter and Adenike Harris

Tim Hartley

Bryan Kett

Ashlee Marie Preston

René Sotelo, M.D.

TEDxPasadena: TRANSFORM will be held on Saturday, September 22, 2018 at The Huntington Library, Art Collection, and Botanical Gardens,1151 Oxford Rd, San Marino, CA 91108. Individual ticket sales are limited and will be available for purchase through www.TEDxPasadena.org, starting July 15, 2018.

About TEDx, x = independently organized eventIn the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)

About TEDTED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or fewer) delivered by today’s leading thinkers and doers. Many of these talks are given at TED’s annual conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, and made available, free, on TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Sal Khan and Daniel Kahneman.

TED’s open and free initiatives for spreading ideas include TED.com, where new TED Talk videos are posted daily; the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as translations from thousands of volunteers worldwide; the educational initiative TED-Ed; the annual million-dollar TED Prize, which funds exceptional individuals with a “wish,” or idea, to create change in the world; TEDx, which provides licenses to thousands of individuals and groups who host local, self-organized TED-style events around the world; and the TED Fellows program, which selects innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

Words2Action (W2A), a 501c(3) tax exempt organization (EIN 81-4946387), is the fiscal agent for TEDxPasadena. All proceeds support our mission to achieve parity for those with muted voice by transforming intention into tangible action. We do this by engaging a community of learners, leaders and educators and challenging them to live by example in order to impact the world for the better.